susemihl



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1;

F. G. SUSEMIHL.

GAR BRAKE.

No. 321,397.. Patented June 30, 1885.

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rrnn STATES ATENT tries.

FRANCIS G. SUSEMIHL, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

'CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 110.321397, dated June 30, 1885.

Application filed July 16, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS G. SUsEMIHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, Wayne county, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Brake Regulators, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to carbra-kes, the object being to make them self-regulating as to the force by which they are pressed against the peripheries of the wheels, and to limit the amount of force so applied to a determined degree, whatever excess of strain may be brought to bear on the brake chains or rods. To accomplish this, the brakes being applied in the usual manner, the pressure is regulated by utilizing the weight of the carbody, or a certain part thereof, to limit the force by which the brake-shoes areheld against the wheels, by means of a simple lifting device adapted to be acted upon by the brake chain or rod at a point situated between where the actuating power is applied thereto and its connection with the brake beam or lever. Said lifting device is constructed in such a manner that when the brake chain or rod is under a tension sufficientto overcome the predetermined part of the weight of the car-body lifted thereby, it becomes locked or clamped, so

0 that no further strain can pass to the part of the chain or rod which is situated between the said device and the brake beam or lever, thus limiting the pressure of the brake-shoes on the wheels by the force required to over come the predetermined part of the weight of the car-body and its load which looks the chain, which pressure of the shoes on the wheels will consequently vary with the load, and bear always a definite relation to the friction of the wheels on the rails. In practically applying this principle to car-brakes,whether the same be operated by hand or by any of the automatic steam and compressed air systems, I cause the brake-chain, or ashort chain connected to the brake-rod, to pass between two pulleys fixed on the frame or the cartruck, and around a pulley fitted in the end of a floating-rod, the other end of which is connected to an arm attached to or forming part of one or more of the bearings, which support the body of the car on the truckframe, in such a manner that when the floating-lever is pulled over toward the two fixed pulleys said hearing or bearings is or are raised, after the brakes are forced against the wheels with the requisite amount of pressure, and the chain becomes clamped between the two fixed pulleys and the pulley on the floating rod, so that it can no longer be drawn around the same to apply a further force to the brake-shoes than that already applied to them before the clamping or locking of the chain takes place; but to describe my invention more particularly, I will now refer to the are companying drawings, in which- Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a front end view,partly in section, on line a: a", Fig. 2, showing a cartruck with my improved brake regulat-or applied thereto. Fig. 2, Sheet 1, is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a section of part of the truck on line y Fig. 2. Fig. 4,

Sheet 2, is adetached plan view of the brakechain and clamping device in locked position; and Figs. 5 and 6, Sheet 2, are rear end views of a truck-frame,showing modificationsin the brake-regulator.

The ear-truck represented in the drawings is of the ordinary construction, in which the car-body ais supported on the transoms 20 20, by the swing-hangers 46, through the medium of the spring-plank 43, springs 80 80, truckbolster 30, side bearings, 61, and center plate, 63. And in applying my improved brake regulator to the brake apparatus, also of the ordinary construction, no material change is made therein.

The brake apparatus consists of the brakebeams 1 1, provided with the brake-shoes b b, and suspended by links from the frame of the truck, the lower connecting-rod,5, the brake lever 2, pivoted to one of the brake-beams 1,

and connected at its lower end to the other brake-beam by means of thelower connectingrod, 5, andthcbrake-chain 3and chain connecting-rod 4, fastened to the top of the brakelever 2.

The operation of such a brake apparatus is well understood, whether the power applied to the brakechain 3 be derived from a handwheel and shaft or from any of the automatic air and vacuum brake systems; and it will also be understood that the brakes of the trucks under each end of the car may be actuated singly or connected together and operated in any of the usual ways. So it will be sufficient for me to describe the application of my brakeregulator to one of the trucks; and from the following description thereof it will be evident that it is adapted to be applied to and used in connection with any form of brake apparatus in which a rod or chain is employed to operate the brakes from the source of power.

On the top of one of the transoms 20 is secured the frame 0, in which are pivoted the two small pulleys d and d. The end of the swing-hanger pivot '47 over the transom on which the pulleys cl d are secured is j ournaled in the lifting-lever e, which is provided with a toe, e, resting in a notch formedin the bearing-platef, secured to the top of the transom. The edge of this toe e is in a plane parallel with the axis of the swing-hanger pivot, but some distance from the vertical line passing through the axis toward the pulleys cl (1, and the boss of the lifting-lever rests in a groove formed in the top of the bearing-plate when the device is in its normal position.

To the upper end of the lifting-lever e is connected one end of the floating-rod g the other end of which is forked, and holds the pulley g in close proximity to the pulleys d d.

The brake-lever connecting-rod 4 is separated at its central part, and said parts are connected together by means of the short chain h, which is passed between the fixed pulleys d and d and around the pulley g on the end of the floating-rod g, as clearly shown at Figs. 2 and 4. The brake-lever chain 3 may be passed around the pulleys d, d, and y when it is used without the rod 4. Now, it will be observed that when a strain is applied to the free end of the brake-lever chain 3, the brake-shoes b are first brought in contact with the wheels 10 w. The pulley g and floating -rod 9 are then drawn toward the pulleys (Z d, and in so moving tilt the liftinglever e on its toe 6, thereby raising the boss of the lever off the bearing-platef. The strain on the brakechain now, and the force with which the brake-shoes b are pressed against the wheels w w, is that due to the strain applied to the chain 3 in overcoming the weight of the portion of the earbody so lifted by the liftinglever e, and by the time this force is brought to properly bear on the wheels the chain It becomes gripped and rigidly clamped between the pulleys d, d, and 9, so that no further strain can be imparted to the chain beyond the pulley at, for any increase of strain on the free end of the chain would cause the pulleys (Z, d, and g to grip and hold it tighter. The power and weight branches and fulcrum of the lifting-lever c are so proportioned and bear such relation to the proportions of the brake-lever 2 that the strain applied to the chain 3 to overcome the weight of the part of the carbody supported by .the lifting-lever will force the brake-shoes against the wheels with a force that causes the friction between them to be slightly less than the friction between the wheels and the rails, each varying in a like manner as the load varies, thereby insuring against any possible slip of the wheels on the rails, thus saving the enormous expense for repairs incurred by the use of ordinary brakes, where no provision is made to limit the brakepower to the load carried by the wheels.

In the brake-regulator, as just described, only one of the four points of support of the car-body on the truck is made use of to limit the pressure to the brake-shoes. Where it is desired to utilize more of the weight of the car-body, then two or more of the bearings may be raised by the floating-rod, as shown at Figs. 5 and 6, respectively. In Fig. 5 the lifting-lever e is secured firmly on the end or the swing-hanger pivot 47 as is also the collar or lifting-cam z" to its other end, which liftingcam i is provided with a toe, 13, resting in a notch on the bearing-plate f corresponding to and in line with the toe e on the lifting-lever 6, so that as the lifting-lever e is tilted the lifting-cam *5 moves with it, and so raises both the swing-hangers 46 46, suspended from this swing'hanger pivot 47. This view, Fig. 5, shows the lifting-lever raised off the bearing plate, with the chain locked between the pulleys d, d, and g, as also shown at Fig. 4. In all the other views the parts are in their normal position. y

In Fig. 6 the lifting-cam i is provided with a downwardlyprojecting arm, t, which, by means of the connecting-rod j, is connected to the lifting-lever j, constructed to lift the end of the other swing-hanger pivot at the other side of the truck, and in its construction and functions is similar to the lifting-lever e. Three of the bearings are thus raised by this arrangement, and when all four are to be raised then the lifting-lever j is secured to its swing-hanger pivot and lifting-cam secured to its other end similar tothat shown at Fig. 5. In these modifications the swing-hangers 46 are made so as to turn on the swing-hanger pivots 47, and the various levers of the whole system proportioned to apply the proper pressure to the brake-shoes, as before described.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination, with the brake chains or rods of a car-brake, of a lifting-lever connected to one or more of the points of suspension of the car-body on the truck, and a clamping device for locking the brake-chain to prevent further pressure being applied to the brake after the lifting-leverhas acted, sub stantially as and for the purpose'set forth.

2. In a car-brake, the combination, with the brake-beams and theactuating lever and chain, of fixed guide-pulleys and a pulley in one end of a rod and around which the chain passes, a lifting-lever connected to the other end of the rod, and the car-body partly supported by the lifting-lever, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a clamping or locking device for the actuating chain or rod, of a car-brake, in combination, the pulleys d and 61, secured to the frame of the truck, the pulley g, fitted in one end of the rod g, the chain h, passed between the pulleys d d and around the pulley g, and a resistance device connected to the other end of the rod 5 substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

prising brakebeams 1, provided with frictionshoes I), connecting-rod 5, brakelever 2, and

actuating chain and rod 3 4:, of a regulating device embracing the car-body a, lifting-lever e, rod 9, provided with the pulley g, the two fixed pulleys, d and d, and the chain h, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The lifting-lever 6, having a bearing in which the swing-hanger pivot of a car-truck is supported, and provided with a toe, e, in combination with the bearing-plate f, secured to the transom of the truck and provided with a notch in which the toe e rests, and means. substantially as described, for rocking said lifting-lever e on its toe e, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Detroit, WVayne county, State of Michigan, this 30th day of June, A. D. 1884:.

FRANCIS G. SUfiEMIHL.

Witnesses:

EDWARD R. E. CoWELL, Trros. S. SPRAGUE. 

